IT Security and Penetration Testing: Scanning Tools

A set of flashcards covering key concepts from IT security and penetration testing focused on scanning tools.

What is the main function of scanners in IT security?

Scanners find and fix vulnerabilities in remote machines on a network.

What is a port scanner?

A software tool that examines and reports the condition (open or closed) of a port and the application listening on that port.

When did scanners first appear?

Scanners first appeared even before ARPANET to monitor connections between mainframes and dumb terminals.

What is a war dialer?

A script that tells the modem to dial a range of phone numbers defined by the user to identify those numbers that connect to remote computers.

What does TCP Connect Scanning do?

Attempts to make TCP connections with all of the ports on a remote system.

What is Half-Open Scanning?

A method of TCP scanning that sends only the SYN message, without completing the connections.

How does UDP scanning work?

It examines the status of UDP ports on a target system by sending a 0-byte UDP packet, expecting an ICMP unreachable message if the port is closed.

What is Ping scanning?

A method that demonstrates whether a remote host is active by sending ICMP echo request packets to that host.

What are some popular scanners mentioned?

Nessus, Nmap, SARA, SAINT, Strobe, Cheops.

What is Nmap used for?

Nmap is a powerful, flexible, and easy-to-use network scanning tool.

What is SARA in network security?

Security Auditor's Research Assistant, a third-generation network security analysis tool.

What is the main purpose of SAINT?

It is an integrated network security tool suitable for UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X.

Who developed Strobe?

Strobe was developed by Julian Assange.

What is a notable feature of Cheops?

It is a port scanner for Linux that uses significant CPU resources, slowing down other applications.

What is the importance of scanners in network security?

Scanners automate the process of examining network weaknesses, identifying known vulnerabilities and open ports.